DOCSLIB.ORG

The U.S. Congress and Global Health: a Primer

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The U.S. Congress and Global Health: a Primer February 2019 The U.S. Congress and Global Health: A Primer Prepared by: Kellie Moss Kaiser Family Foundation and Jen Kates Kaiser Family Foundation Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Structure ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Chambers .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Members ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Committees ............................................................................................................................................... 2 Caucuses .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Role and Key Activities ................................................................................................................................. 3 Legislation ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Oversight ................................................................................................................................................... 8 Examples of Congressional Engagement ................................................................................................... 11 PEPFAR .................................................................................................................................................. 11 West Africa Ebola Outbreak .................................................................................................................... 12 Looking Ahead ............................................................................................................................................ 14 Appendix A: Key Congressional Committees and Subcommittees Related to Global Health .................... 15 Appendix B: Key Congressional Caucuses Related to Global Health ........................................................ 18 Endnotes ..................................................................................................................................................... 19 Introduction The U.S. Congress, the legislative body of the U.S. government (USG), plays an important role in determining and shaping the government’s global health policy and programs. Although only one of many USG entities involved in global health, its engagement has been particularly notable over the last 15 years, which have been marked by unprecedented bipartisan support for U.S. global health efforts and resulted in the authorization of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. government’s coordinated response to global HIV and the largest program focused on a single global health issue in the world, as well as the appropriation of significantly increased funding. Indeed, Congress fulfills a key role in U.S. global health policy by setting the broad parameters and priorities of U.S. global health programs, determining their funding levels, and overseeing the implementation and effectiveness of supported efforts. Its activities in this area are complemented and influenced to varying degrees by those of numerous stakeholder groups and individuals that, while not examined in this primer, are key actors in the policymaking process. Such stakeholders include: advocates, the private sector, think tanks, academic institutions, religious communities and organizations, people directly affected by global health issues (such as people living with HIV), and others. To help shed light on Congress’ role in global health, this primer provides an overview of its engagement in this area, aiming to provide a basic framework with which congressional efforts may be understood. First, it examines the structure of Congress and its role and key activities in global health, which range from authorizing the creation of and providing funding for U.S. global health programs to engaging in program oversight and confirming presidential appointees to lead these efforts. It then illustrates these by examining selected legislative activities for two global health examples: the creation and evolution of PEPFAR and the 2014/2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Finally, it discusses opportunities and challenges related to congressional engagement in global health going forward. Structure Congressional engagement in global health is carried out by the two chambers of Congress – the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate – and their members, committees, and caucuses. This work is supported by a cadre of congressional staff as well as legislative branch agencies and offices (e.g., the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Congressional Research Service (CRS)). Chambers The U.S. House of Representatives (the House) and the U.S. Senate (the Senate) debate and vote on legislation, including legislation related to global health, among other activities. The House is the larger body, whose members represent 435 congressional districts, which are distributed across states based on population during the most recent census; House members are up for re-election every two years. The Senate has 100 members, two from each state, who are up for re-election every six years. The U.S. Congress and Global Health: A Primer 1 Members Each chamber is made up of Box 1: The 116th Congress individuals who have been elected Every two years, a new term of Congress is convened, initiating a new to serve as members of Congress two year period of legislative activity. Each year within this period is a th for certain periods of time (see congressional session. The current Congress, known as the 116 Congress, was convened on January 3, 2019, and will end on January 3, Box 1). Members’ engagement in 2021. Its membership is made up of the following: global health may include a variety Representatives: 435 elected members1 of the House who serve two– of actions, such as: sending official year terms; all are up for election every two years. correspondence (e.g., to the Senators: 100 members of the Senate who serve six-year terms; a Executive Branch or to third of senators are up for election every two years. congressional colleagues Democratic majority in House, Republican majority in Senate: The House has 198 Republicans and 235 Democrats.* The Senate has 53 individually or via “Dear Republicans, 45 Democrats, and 2 Independents who caucus with the Colleague” letters2), speaking Democrats. publicly and/or privately, Members who are: women (131); African-Americans (58); Hispanic or Latino (45); of Asian, South Asian, or Pacific Islander ancestry (18); participating in congressional American Indian (Native American) (4). delegations to the field, issuing Members who served or are serving in the U.S. military: 96. press releases, introducing or co- NOTES: As of February 5, 2019. * One House member recently resigned to sponsoring legislation, and, most pursue a job in the private sector, and another House seat has not been filled since the election results have not yet been certified. importantly, voting on legislation. (It is important to keep in mind that legislation may be a product of negotiations with the Executive Branch.) Committees Within each chamber, the work of Congress is generally performed by smaller groups of members, known as committees. Committees examine issues under their jurisdiction and may also consider and vote on legislation. Passage of a piece of legislation by a committee allows it to be brought before the chamber as a whole. Currently, the Senate has 16 standing (permanent) committees and four select and special committees, which may be permanent or temporary and typically “examine emerging issues that do not fit clearly within existing standing committee jurisdictions or cut across jurisdictional boundaries.” The House has 20 standing committees and three select committees.3 Additionally, there are four joint committees of the House and Senate, which are permanent, bicameral entities that do not consider legislation but rather carry out studies and certain administrative functions for Congress. Although the organization of committees in each chamber is rooted in a 1946 law that originally laid out similar committees in each chamber, the committee structure has evolved over time, leading to more variation across committees and chambers.4 There are more than ten congressional committees whose work relates to global health,5 although a smaller subset of six committees has primary jurisdiction over most global health programs and funding. These six are: the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HFAC), the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (SFRC), the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C Committee), the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP Committee); and the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations (Approps. Committees). See Table 2 for an overview of jurisdiction by The U.S. Congress and Global Health: A Primer 2 committee. Also see Appendix A for an overview of key committees and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Session from Hell by Arnold Hamilton These Are the Raw Numbers: the Lawmakers Consider Sacrosanct: Cor- Legislature’S 101 House Members Porate Welfare
    $2.50 25,000 Blue Chip Readers VOL. 42, NO. 2 An Independent Journal of Commentary JANUARY 25, 2010 Wingnuts And Corporatists Session From Hell By Arnold Hamilton These are the raw numbers: The lawmakers consider sacrosanct: cor- Legislature’s 101 House members porate welfare. and 48 senators filed 2,235 bills and The state has created a cornucopia 59 resolutions in advance of the 2010 of tax exemptions – including sales session that opens Feb. 1. taxes on newspapers – that benefit Toss in the 1,051 bills and 86 res- the supposedly free-market Chamber olutions left over from last year and crowd. When GOP Sen. Mike Mazzei lawmakers could take up as many as of Tulsa tried to repeal them and start 3,431 measures this year – or one for over, he discovered neither Republi- just about every little Oklahoma town cans nor Democrats were much inter- the size of Medford or Fairland, Wister ested in disappointing wealthy busi- or Hydro. ness interests and deep-pocketed As impressive – or depressing – as campaign donors. the sheer magnitude of legislative Don’t be surprised if the GOP lead- creativity may be, there’s really only ership targets education, despite lip one number that is important to know service to the contrary. The corporat- heading into this session: 1.3 billion. ists in charge are not beyond using That’s the size of the projected hole the crisis to attempt to bring their – in dollars – in the 2010-11 budget, arch-enemies, the state’s teachers down from a $7.1 billion spending unions, to their knees.
    [Show full text]
  • Positioning Women to Win to Guide Me Through the Challenging Issues That Arise During My Campaign for Re-Election.”
    P o s i t ion i ng Wom e n to Wi n New Strategies for Turning Gender Stereotypes Into Competitive Advantages The Barbara Lee Family Foundation “Running my gubernatorial race was very different than running my previous race, and the Governor’s Guidebook series played an integral role in answering the questions I didn’t even know to ask. I will certainly rely on Positioning Women to Win to guide me through the challenging issues that arise during my campaign for re-election.” – Governor Christine Gregoire “Winning an election can never be taken for granted. The Governors Guidebook series arms both incumbents and first- time challengers with the “do’s” and “don’ts” of effectively communicating your achievements and vision. Leaders, regardless of gender, must develop a realistic and hopeful vision and be able to clearly articulate it to their supporters.” – Governor Linda Lingle P o s i t ion i ng Wom e n to Wi n New Strategies for Turning Gender Stereotypes Into Competitive Advantages DeDication Dedicated to the irrepressible spirit of the late Governor Ann Richards. acknowleDgements I would like to extend my deep appreciation to three extraordinary women who have served as Director at the Barbara Lee Family Foundation: Julia Dunbar, Amy Rosenthal and Alexandra Russell. I am also grateful for the support of the wonder women at “Team Lee”: Kathryn Burton, Moire Carmody, Hanna Chan, Monique Chateauneuf, Dawn Huckelbridge, Dawn Leaness, Elizabeth Schwartz, Mandy Simon and Nadia Berenstein. This guidebook would not have been possible without the vision and hard work of our political consultants and their staffs: Mary Hughes, Celinda Lake, Christine Stavem, Bob Carpenter and Pat Carpenter.
    [Show full text]
  • Congressional Directory CALIFORNIA
    22 Congressional Directory CALIFORNIA Office Listings http://www.house.gov/woolsey 2263 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 ................................. (202) 225–5161 Chief of Staff.—Nora Matus. FAX: 225–5163 Press Secretary.—Christopher Shields. 1101 College Avenue, Suite 200, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 .......................................... (707) 542–7182 District Director.—Wendy Friefeld. 1050 Northgate Drive, Suite 354, San Rafael, CA 94903 .......................................... (415) 507–9554 Counties: MARIN, SONOMA (part). CITIES AND TOWNSHIPS: Santa Rosa, Sebastapol, Cotati, Petaluma, and Sonoma to Golden Gate Bridge. Population (2000), 639,087. ZIP Codes: 94901, 94903–04, 94912–15, 94920, 94922–31, 94933, 94937–42, 94945–57, 94960, 94963–66, 94970–79, 94998–99, 95401–07, 95409, 95412, 95419, 95421, 95430–31, 95436, 95439, 95441–42, 95444, 95446, 95448, 95450, 95452, 95462, 95465, 95471–73, 95476, 95480, 95486, 95492, 95497 *** SEVENTH DISTRICT GEORGE MILLER, Democrat, of Martinez, CA; born in Richmond, CA, May 17, 1945; edu- cation: attended Martinez public schools; Diablo Valley College; graduated, San Francisco State College, 1968; J.D., University of California at Davis School of Law, 1972; member: California State bar; Davis Law School Alumni Association; served five years as legislative aide to Senate majority leader, California State Legislature; past chairman and member of Contra Costa County Democratic Central Committee; past president of Martinez Democratic Club; married: the for- mer Cynthia Caccavo; children: George and Stephen; four grandchildren; committees: chair, Education and Labor; Natural Resources; elected to the 94th Congress, November 5, 1974; reelected to each succeeding Congress. Office Listings http://www.house.gov/georgemiller [email protected] 2205 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 ................................
    [Show full text]
  • 11502 Hon. Mark Steven Kirk Hon. Anna G. Eshoo Hon. Barbara
    11502 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS June 21, 2001 he attended the Air War College, served in nations in the Carribean and Pacific. With few leagues to join me in paying tribute to a great NATO as head of the US Defense Production natural resources, these nations often resort to and good woman, and offer the condolences Staff in London, and was Chief, Military Assist- harvesting or otherwise exploiting coral reefs of the entire House of Representatives to her ance Advisory Group, United Kingdom. and other marine habitats to earn hard cur- family. In June 1957, he was assigned as Com- rency to service foreign debt. f mander, Mobile Air Material Area and followed The Coral Reef and Coastal Marine Con- this assignment with a two-year tour at the servation Act of 2001 will essentially credit A SALUTE TO BERKELEY CITY Pentagon where he was Director of Logistics qualified developing nations for each dollar COUNCILMEMBER AND VICE for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Cuban Mis- spent on a comprehensive reef preservation or MAYOR MAUDELLE SHIREK IN sile Crisis highlighted this tour, where General management program designed to protect HONOR OF HER 90TH BIRTHDAY Callahan oversaw the massive movement and these unique ecosystems from degradation. CELEBRATION positioning of personnel and equipment to This legislation will make available re- deal with this crisis. sources for environmental stewardship that HON. BARBARA LEE Following his retirement in 1963, General would otherwise be of the lowest priority in a OF CALIFORNIA Callahan spent five years with Chrysler Cor- developing country. It will reduce debt by in- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES poration in their Defense-Space Group, and in vesting locally in programs that will strengthen Thursday, June 21, 2001 1968, he joined NASA at the Kennedy Space indigenous economies by creating long-term Center as the Director of Administration.
    [Show full text]
  • CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— Extensions of Remarks E114 HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF HON. BARBARA LEE HON. STEVE CHABOT
    E114 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks February 7, 2002 Daschle, Democrat of South Dakota and the gressman. She moved to Glendale after World In my district, the Alameda County Health majority leader, moved to shelve it. Those War II and attended local Glendale schools, Department, partners in the Alameda County making a million dollars or more, just one of graduating from Hoover High School. She State of Emergency Task Force and the faith every 625 taxpayers in 1999, more than dou- bled their slice of the nation’s income to 11.2 earned a business degree from the University community will also hold day long community percent that year, from 5.4 percent in 1995. of Southern California. events to mark this occasion. These high-income taxpayers also captured a Her professional life was marked by much Three years ago the State of Emergency quarter of the nation’s total personal income distinction. She served as the controller of Ar- Task Force and the Alameda County Health growth from 1995 through 1999. The incomes tisan House, Inc., as a portfolio manager with Department helped to declare a Public Health of taxpayers making less than $1 million also Salomon Smith Barney, and in 1990 opened Emergency on HIV/AIDS in the African Amer- rose, though not as sharply. The income of her own investment-counseling firm in Glen- ican community. Since then, more resources everyone making less than a million dollars dale, which today is part of Clifford Associ- have reached the community making an posi- averaged $41,000 in 1999, up from $33,500 in ates, the oldest investment firm in the United tive impact.
    [Show full text]
  • Extensions of Remarks E1013 HON. PETE OLSON
    June 18, 2014 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1013 community activist in her South Sacramento semifinals, the furthest the team has ever Day Without Hunger. Over the past thirty neighborhood. Outside of elected office, she gone in playoffs. To be named the 4A Out- years, the Loaves & Fishes team has been spent twenty-two years working for Unilab standing Coach of the Year in Texas recog- committed to providing a hand up to those Medical Laboratories and Pacific Bell. Council- nizes more than just her success on the court. most in need in DuPage County with food as- woman Pannell was elected to the Sac- As a former high school and college basket- sistance and other services. ramento City Council in June of 1998, suc- ball player, I know what a difference an out- This organization has grown exponentially in ceeding her late husband, Samuel Pannell. As standing coach can make in a player’s life. size and scope in order to realize their vision a Councilwoman, she has been re-elected to Looking back on it now, I know it wasn’t our of ending hunger in DuPage County. In 1984, four-year terms in 2000, 2004, 2008 and again record that was most important, it was the les- the year of their founding, the Loaves & in 2012. She served as the City of Sac- sons I learned from playing the game. Coach Fishes team assisted eight households in the ramento’s Vice Mayor in 2001 and served with Fields just finished her 18th year at Terry High Naperville area, providing them with food to distinction for multiple years on the Board of School in Rosenberg, Texas.
    [Show full text]
  • CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— Extensions of Remarks E2185 HON. BRAD SHERMAN HON. BARBARA LEE HON. MAX SANDLIN HON. SCOTT Mcinnis
    October 26, 1999 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E2185 CIVITAS PROGRAM RESTORING IN MEMORY OF PRESIDENT My proposal could save the government bil- HOPE IN BOSNIA AND JULIUS NYERERE lions of dollars. Giving up the 3.4 percent pay HERZEGOVINA raise and cutting away earmarked proposals HON. BARBARA LEE would eliminate the need for indiscriminate OF CALIFORNIA spending cuts which would devastate already HON. BRAD SHERMAN IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES under-funded programs. Mr. Speaker, the time to act is now. We OF CALIFORNIA Tuesday, October 26, 1999 have to make the tough choices that the IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a student, active American people sent us here to make. For us in the African liberation movement, President to meet our obligations and protect Social Se- Tuesday, October 26, 1999 Julius Nyerere was a source of inspiration to curity, we will have to make sacrifices. We will me. As a supporter, educator and celebrator Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, in recent have to do the right thing. of indigenous African cultures, Nyerere was a I am hopeful that the House leadership will weeks a delegation of educators and edu- President who left an indelible mark not only make the right choice at this critical moment in cation officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina on Africans of all countries, but of people of all the budget debate. It will take courage. It will traveled to my district to continue their work nations. require us to make tough choices. And that’s with the Center for Civic Education in imple- It is fitting at this time to pay the utmost re- our job.
    [Show full text]
  • A Growing Diversity
    A Growing Diversity 1993–2017 In late April 1975, eight-year-old Anh (Joseph) Cao’s long and improbable odyssey to the halls of Congress began as North Vietnamese communists seized the southern capital city of Saigon.1 The trajectory of the soft-spoken, bookish Cao toward Capitol Hill stands out as one of the most remarkable in the modern era, even as it neatly encapsulated post-1965 Asian immigration patterns to the United States. Still, the origins of Cao’s story were commonplace. For three decades, conflict and civil war enveloped his country. After the Vietnamese threw off the yoke of French colonialism following World War II, a doomed peace accord in 1954 removed the French military and partitioned Vietnam. The new government in South Vietnam aligned with Western world powers, while North Vietnam allied with communist states. Amid the Cold War, the U.S. backed successive Saigon regimes against communist insurgents before directly intervening in 1965. A massive ground and air war dragged on inconclusively for nearly a decade. More than 58,000 American troops were killed, and more than three million South and North Vietnamese perished.2 Public opposition in the United States eventually forced an end to the intervention. America’s decision to withdraw from Vietnam shattered Joseph Cao’s family just as it did many thousands of others as communist forces soon swamped the ineffectual government and military in the South. In 2011 Japanese-American veterans received the Congressional Gold Medal for their valor during World War II. The medal included the motto of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, “Go for Broke.” Nisei Soldiers of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Obverse © 2011 United States Mint 42940_08-APA-CE3.indd 436 2/13/2018 12:04:16 PM 42940_08-APA-CE3.indd 437 2/13/2018 12:04:17 PM Just days before Saigon fell, Cao’s mother, Khang Thi Tran, spirited one of her daughters and two sons, including Anh, to a U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Suburbanization of the Democratic Party, 1992–2018
    The Suburbanization of the Democratic Party, 1992–2018 David A. Hopkins Boston College [email protected] Paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, August 29, 2019. 1 Abstract Over the past three decades, the Democratic Party has become mostly suburban in both the residence of party supporters in the mass public and the composition of its congressional caucus. This transformation reflects migration patterns among American citizens, partisan shifts among some suburban voters, and a serious relative decline over time in the party’s rural strength. The trend of suburbanization has made the party’s elected officials more ideologically unified, especially on cultural issues, but it also works to preclude the partywide adoption of an ambitious left-wing economic agenda. Suburbanization has occurred alongside a growth in the racial heterogeneity of the Democratic mass membership and elite leadership alike, encouraged by the demographic diversification of American suburbs. Democratic suburban growth has been especially concentrated in the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, reflecting the combined presence of both relatively liberal whites (across education levels) and substantial minority populations, but suburbs elsewhere remain decidedly, even increasingly, Republican in their collective partisan alignment. Rather than stimulating a broad national pro-Democratic backlash across suburban communities in general, as is sometimes suggested by political observers, the election of Donald Trump has instead further magnified this existing divergence—leaving American suburbia, like the nation itself, closely and deeply divided between the two major parties. Introduction Political analysts, including academics, are fond of describing the current era of American politics as primarily distinguished by deep and stable partisan loyalties.
    [Show full text]
  • 2012 Election Results Coastal Commission Legislative Report
    STATE OF CALIFORNIA—NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY EDMUND G. BROWN, JR., GOVERNOR CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION 45 FREMONT, SUITE 2000 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105- 2219 VOICE (415) 904- 5200 FAX (415) 904- 5400 TDD (415) 597-5885 W-19a LEGISLATIVE REPORT 2012 ELECTION—CALIFORNIA COASTAL DISTRICTS DATE: January 9, 2013 TO: California Coastal Commission and Interested Public Members FROM: Charles Lester, Executive Director Sarah Christie, Legislative Director Michelle Jesperson, Federal Programs Manager RE: 2012 Election Results in Coastal Districts This memo describes the results of the 2012 elections in California’s coastal districts. The November 2012 General Election in California was the first statewide election to feel the full effect of two significant new electoral policies. The first of these, the “Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act,” was approved by voters in 2010 (Proposition 14). Under the new system, all legislative, congressional and constitutional office candidates now appear on the same primary ballot, regardless of party affiliation. The two candidates receiving the most votes in the Primary advance to the General Election, regardless of party affiliation. The June 2012 primary was the first time voters utilized the new system, and the result was numerous intra-party competitions in the November election as described below. The other significant new factor in this election was the newly drawn political districts. The boundaries of legislative and congressional seats were redrawn last year as part of the decennial redistricting process, whereby voting districts are reconfigured based on updated U.S. Census population data. Until 2011, these maps have been redrawn by the majority party in the Legislature, with an emphasis on party registration.
    [Show full text]
  • I. Maximizing Documentation of the Legislative Process
    I. MAXIMIZING DOCUMENTATION OF THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS I. A. Committee Records The responsibility to document the activities of Congress and pre- serve records that are of use to Senate and House committees pre- sents a serious challenge in the modern “information age.” Congressional staff, scholars, and archivists all recognize that the fragmentation and dispersal of congressional records inhibit the coordinated records management and archiving of records that are necessary for the present and future study of Congress. Although committees maintain and preserve their official records in greater quantity today than in the past, the quality and completeness of this documentation has yet to be established. Unpublished records cre- ated within the last two or three decades (depending on Senate or House access rules) have not been described systematically by the Center for Legislative Archives staff because they are still closed to research. The mounting volume of records and the demise of cen- tralized filing systems within committee offices, coupled with the increasing use of modern information technologies, have raised the concern that the records may not sufficiently document the legisla- tive process and the history of today’s Congress. This issue concerns committees as users of their own records as well as future researchers. To address these concerns, the Advisory Committee asks the Center for Legislative Archives to undertake a systematic archival description of modern committee records series in order to assess the informational value of the records preserved. The Center should report its findings to the Advisory Committee at the 1996 fall meet- ing in preparation for a full discussion of modern record-keeping practices in Congress and an exploration of the appropriate mea- sures to ensure that the legislative process is fully documented in the official records of Congress.
    [Show full text]
  • Contingent Election of the President and Vice President by Congress: Perspectives and Contemporary Analysis
    Contingent Election of the President and Vice President by Congress: Perspectives and Contemporary Analysis Updated October 6, 2020 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R40504 Contingent Election of the President and Vice President by Congress Summary The 12th Amendment to the Constitution requires that presidential and vice presidential candidates gain “a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed” in order to win election. With a total of 538 electors representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 270 electoral votes is the “magic number,” the arithmetic majority necessary to win the presidency. What would happen if no candidate won a majority of electoral votes? In these circumstances, the 12th Amendment also provides that the House of Representatives would elect the President, and the Senate would elect the Vice President, in a procedure known as “contingent election.” Contingent election has been implemented twice in the nation’s history under the 12th Amendment: first, to elect the President in 1825, and second, the Vice President in 1837. In a contingent election, the House would choose among the three candidates who received the most electoral votes. Each state, regardless of population, casts a single vote for President in a contingent election. Representatives of states with two or more Representatives would therefore need to conduct an internal poll within their state delegation to decide which candidate would receive the state’s single vote. A majority of state votes, 26 or more, is required to elect, and the House must vote “immediately” and “by ballot.” Additional precedents exist from 1825, but they would not be binding on the House in a contemporary election.
    [Show full text]